Marines look into
death in war zone

A Kaneohe-based lance corporal died
from a "non-hostile" gunshot wound

The Marine Corps is investigating the shooting death of a 21-year-old Kaneohe Marine who died Saturday in Afghanistan.

A spokesman at Kaneohe Bay would only say yesterday that Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Nass, of Franklin, Wis., died from a non-hostile gunshot wound at Camp Blessing in Afghanistan. The official Marine Corps statement did not specify whether Nass, the sixth Kaneohe Marine to die in Afghanistan, shot himself or was shot by another Marine or civilian.

Nass was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, at Camp Blessing. Besides being the base camp for Kaneohe Marines, it is home to personnel from the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force. It is located in Afghanistan's Pesch Valley.

Nass joined the Marine Corps in January 2003 and reported to Kaneohe Bay in July 2003. He deployed to Afghanistan in June 2005 as a rifleman in 1st Squad, 1st Platoon, Company Echo.

Nass is survived by his wife.

Last month, another member of Echo Company, Lance Cpl. Phillip George, was killed when his platoon was ambushed by 30 insurgents.

At an Aug. 20 memorial service held by the 2nd Battalion in Afghanistan, George was described as "a great friend. He was a serious person who had a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor, but he was fiercely loyal to his friends and family," said Lance Cpl. Spencer E. Kimball, an infantryman from Flower Mountain, Texas, in a statement released by the Marine Corps. "He really loved being a Marine."

"George was physically fit, tactically proficient, and one of the top team leaders in the platoon. He was constantly teaching his junior Marines to excel and displayed great leadership," said Cpl. Anthony Sarmienta, an infantryman from Ennis, Texas.

"He was hard-core. He wanted to go to Iraq with Blackwater (an independent security company) after he got out of the Marine Corps."

George's unit was ambushed by an estimated 20 to 30 terrorists at the end of a nine-day mission. The firefight took place while Marines were passing through the village, Taleban, and lasted more than an hour.

"George went above and beyond any expectations that I had of him. He accomplished every task given to him no matter how small," said 1st Lt. Christopher R. Hagan, 1st platoon commander, from East Greenwhich, R.I.

"He made an extraordinary effort to learn the necessary local phrases that would help out the unit. He outdid me on how much he learned."